You have heard, and you will hear, a great deal about politics,
and in the heap of chaff you may find some grains of
good sense. Believe me, sir, freedom and religion are only
watchwords. We have appointed a Committee, or rather
we have nominated one. Let me give you the history of it.
It is needless to premise, that the lower orders of mankind
are more easily led by specious appearances than those of
a more exalted station. This, and many similar propositions,
you know better than your humble servant.

The troubles in America, during Grenville's administration,
put our gentry upon this finesse. They stimulated
some daring coxcombs to rouse the mob into an attack
upon the bounds of order and decency. These fellows became
the Jack Cades of the day, the leaders in all the riots,
the belwethers of the flock. The reason of the manoeuvre
in those who wished to keep fair with the Government,
and at the same time to receive the incense of popular
applause, you will readily perceive. On the whole, the
shepherds were not much to blame in a politic point of
view. The belwethers jingled merrily, and roared out liberty,
and property, and religion, and a multitude of cant
terms, which every one thought he understood, and was
egregiously mistaken. For you must know the shepherds
kept the dictionary of the day, and, like the mysteries of
the ancient mythology, it was not for profane eyes or ears.
This answered many purposes; the simple flock put themselves
entirely under the protection of these most excellent
shepherds. By and bye behold a great metamorphosis,
without the help of Ovid or his divinities, but entirely effectuated
by two modern Genii, the god of Ambition and
the goddess of Faction. The first of these prompted the
shepherds to shear some of their flock, and then, in conjunction
with the other, converted the belwethers into
shepherds. That we have been in hot water with the British
Parliament ever since every body knows. Consequently
these new shepherds had their hands full of employment.
The old ones kept themselves least in sight, and a want of
confidence in each other was not the least evil which followed.
The port of Boston has been shut up. These sheep,
simple as they are, cannot be gulled as heretofore. In
short, there is no ruling them; and now, to leave the metaphor,
the heads of the mobility grow dangerous to the
gentry, and how to keep them down is the question. While
they correspond with the other Colonies, call and dismiss
popular assemblies, make resolves to bind the consciences
of the rest of mankind, bully poor printers, and exert with
full force all their other tribunitial powers, it is impossible
to curb them.

But art sometimes goes farther than force, and, therefore,
to trick them handsomely a Committee of patricians
was to be nominated, and into their hands was to be committed
the majesty of the people, and the highest trust was
to be reposed in them by a mandate that they should take
care, quod respublica non capiat injuriam. The tribunes,
through the want of good legerdemain in the senatorial
order, perceived the finesse; and yesterday I was present
at a grand division of the city, and there I beheld my fellow-citizens
very accurately counting all their chickens, not
only before any of them were hatched, but before above
one half of the eggs were laid. In short, they fairly contended
about the future forms of our Government,
whether it should be founded upon aristocratic or democratic
principles.

I stood in the balcony, and on my right hand were
ranged all the people of property, with some few poor dependants,
and on the other all the tradesmen, &c., who
thought it worth their while to leave daily labour for the
good of the country. The spirit of the English Constitution
has yet a little influence left, and bu[t] a little. The remains
of it, however, will give the wealthy people a superiority
this time, but would they secure it they must banish all
schoolmasters and confine all knowledge to themselves.
This cannot be. The mob begin to think and to reason.
Poor reptiles! it is with them a vernal morning; they are
struggling to cast off their winter's slough, they bask in the
sunshine, and ere noon they will bite, depend upon it. The
gentry begin to fear this. Their Committee will be appointed,
they will deceive the people, and again forfeit a
share of their confidence. And if these instances of what
with one side is policy, with the other perfidy, shall continue
to increase, and become more frequent, farewell aristocracy.
I see, and I see it with fear and trembling, that
if the disputes with Great Britain continue, we shall be under
the worst of all possible dominions; we shall be under
the domination of a riotous mob.